Digital Commons Network^™

The Zen/Budo Of The Arts: Discovering Transpersonal Influences And Insights Into Cultural Integration Through The Artistry Of The Kata In Traditional Karate, James Frederic Bonomo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Many of Japan’s aesthetic, philosophical and cultural institutions were originated in China and India. This nexus created the basis for national unification by and through the use of the kata (trnsl: form or shape). Equally important is the component that integrates artistry into the kata, and eventually, into the kata of Shotokan karate. This particular occurrence compliments the historically important idea known as kokoro (mind-body-spirit), a Zen term but often synonymous with artistry and the artistic mindset. Kokoro can be seen as the product of cumulative intersections in philosophical discourse, framing Japanese beliefs in all things that led to a …

This American Bizarre, Adam Sword

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This is a collection of fiction that draws on the author’s own experiences as a western foreigner in America, while also taking inspiration from many different art forms and their depictions of American life, as experienced by outsiders. The themes of this collection center around the discord and disparity prevalent between British and American life. The other key theme in this collection is how violence seems to be simmering, always near at hand, in a country like America. In this way, many of the stories allude to a kind of violence taken to be something unique to American society, which …

Tidal Power Arrays And The Coriolis Force With Array Design Considerations, Victoria Miglietta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Tidal currents are a renewable energy resource and the work presented is in the field of harnessing tidal currents for electrical power generation. The main objective of the research is to provide information on rotational flow effects, caused by the spinning of the earth, around obstacles on the sea floor, in support of developing robust design of an underwater turbine array. This research looks at a gravity based linear array, a single turbine deep, with its largest dimension several kilometers long. The primary goal is to model a Taylor column above a linear array. The Taylor column has closed streamlines …

Transitional Turbulence: The Relationship Between Organizational Culture, Power, And An Incoming Principal, Amy L. Varo-Haub

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This qualitative case study explored the changing relationships and cultural evolution that occurred over the course of the initial year of a principal transition within a private upper school. Collected data included interviews, observations, and documents. All data were reviewed and analyzed in order to understand the experience that the transitioning principal, administrators, faculty, college counselors, and staff encountered during the course of the transition. The conceptual framework of this study was based on a social constructivist mindset and was ethnographic in nature: the researcher understood and defined the culture and transition experience through data synthesis, revealing varied interpretations of …

Use Of Complementary Therapies For Diabetes Mellitus By Jamaican Adults In South Florida: A Focused Ethnography, Raquel Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Jamaicans, the largest group of English-speaking Caribbean people living in the United States (US), have a history of using bush medicine/complementary therapies (CT) in diabetes management. However, no research described the emic views of Jamaican adults regarding how they select the bush medicine they use or how they know these are suitable to manage diabetes. The purpose of this focused ethnography was to explore and describe how Jamaican adults with diabetes mellitus who live in South Florida select and use complementary therapies for managing their diabetes. The objectives were to: (1) Explore the emic views of Jamaican adults about using …

Unraveling The Molecular Mechanism Of Human Polynucleotide Phosphorylase (Hpnpase) In Controlling Oxidized Rna, Sulochan Malla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Oxidation by reactive oxygen species is the major source of RNA damaging insult in living organisms. Increased RNA oxidation has been strongly implicated in a wide range of human diseases; predominantly neurodegeneration. Oxidized RNA should be removed from the cellular system to prevent their deleterious effect to the cells and organisms. In eukaryotic cells, mitochondria are the major intracellular sources of ROS and may cause greater damage to the mitochondrial RNA. In this study, we first investigated the RNA oxidation, by measuring the level of 8-hydroxy-Guanosine (8-oxo-Guo), inside mitochondria and cytoplasm in cultured human cells. We discovered that the mitochondrial …

Up, Down, And All-Around: The Swirling-Transfer Student Athlete Experience At Athletic State University, Ethan C. Swingle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Intercollegiate athletics have become an integral part of campus life (Shulman & Bowen, 2001), and have grown exponentially in the resources universities put forth to participate in this extracurricular activity (Clotfelter, 2011). One of the biggest evolutions of intercollegiate athletics has been student athlete transfer (Cooper & Hawkins, 2014); however, little research has been conducted on the transfer student athlete, or the transfer student athlete experience (Cooper & Hawkins, 2014). As such, the purpose of this instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) was to discover and describe the experiences and perceptions of swirling-transfer student athletes at Athletic State University. A purposive …

Veins Of Oppression In Under The Feet Of Jesus, Cynthia Wedding

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

“Veins of Oppression” takes an interdisciplinary approach towards unearthing the layers of subjugation piled on Chicano/a/x migrant farm workers in the fields of California, visible in Helena Maria Viramontes’ Under the Feet of Jesus. While critics such as Christa Grewe-Volpp, Anne Shea, and Sarah Wald have produced progressive work about this text that adds to their respective disciplinary fields, unique to this collection, the interdisciplinary framework visible in “Veins of Oppression” forces readers to bear witness to the many ways Chicano/a/x migrant farm workers are kept from accessing the privileges implicit in U.S. citizenship through longstanding and current agricultural practices. …

Using Hydrogeophysical Methods For Investigating Carbon Dynamics In The Greater Everglades Watershed: Implications For The Spatial And Temporal Variability In Carbon Stocks And Biogenic Gas Fluxes, Matthew D. Mcclellan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Peat soils store a large fraction of the global soil carbon (C) pool and comprise 95% of wetland C stocks. They also have the capability to produce and release significant amounts of greenhouse gasses (CO2, CH4) into the atmosphere. Most studies of wetland soil C and gas flux dynamics have been done in expansive peatlands in northern boreal and subarctic biomes. However, wetlands in temperate and tropical climates are vastly understudied despite accounting for more than 20% of the global peatland C stock and storing large amounts of biogenic gasses Although studies investigating greenhouse gas dynamics from peatlands have increased …

Utilizing Remote Sensing To Describe The Area Of Occurrence Of The Dania Beach Monkeys, Chlorocebus Sabaeus, From Introduction To Present, Ashley M. Lyon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This research investigates land use change and the area of occurrence of an introduced primate species, Chlorocebus sabaeus, from 1940 until the present. Research into the importation and subsequent release of these monkeys has revealed that they were released from a failed tourist attraction in 1947. The attraction was located southeast of the Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Remote sensing techniques were utilized to examine land use change over time, create a land classification map, and create a canopy model. These data were used to better understand the area of occurrence of an introduced primate species by examining …

Vertebrate And Invertebrate Commensals In Gopher Tortoise Burrows Of Southeast Florida, Amanda Cristina Hipps

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Gopher tortoise (Gopherus Polyphemus) burrows provide a unique microhabitat used by hundreds of vertebrate and invertebrate species. Prior to this study, limited information was available regarding burrow commensal species in southeast Florida, especially for invertebrate taxa. This study is an in-depth investigation of vertebrate and invertebrate gopher tortoise burrow commensals and is the first to document obligate invertebrate commensals (OIC) in this region. The objective was to test a variety of noninvasive methods effective for surveying commensals, compile an account of species dependent on gopher tortoise burrows in southeast Florida, accumulate information on threatened, endangered, and invasive species, add to …

West Indian Immigrant Women: The Higher Education Lived Experiences Of Undergraduate And Graduate Students At Florida Atlantic University, Shireen Lalla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This phenomenological study explored the perceptions and lived experiences of female West Indian immigrant students as they academically and socially acculturated while attending Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Snowball techniques were employed to select 11 female immigrant West Indian undergraduate and graduate students living in southeastern Florida and attending FAU. Data were gathered from two in-depth one-on one interviews with each participant. Stories emerged that highlight the immigrant experiences of these female West Indian students. Such narratives have been lacking in the higher education literature about how this population of women persists in colleges and universities in the United States (U.S.). …

Why Parents Choose Non-Denominational Private Schools For Their Children: Preferences In International Settings, Bonet Jorge Segovia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This study offers a better understanding of the reasons why parents from six different countries across the Western hemisphere chose private, non-denominational schools for their children’s education. The findings deepen the knowledge in what is currently an underdeveloped field of research in education. The overarching research question was: What are the primary reasons why parents chose a private nondenominational school in Mexico, Spain, Costa Rica, United States, United Kingdom, and South Africa for their children’s education? To explore this question in depth, the researcher considered five sub-questions and employed a grounded theory qualitative research design. Data were collected twofold through …

Yesterday Will Come, Meryl D'Sa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Yesterday Will Come is a hybrid collection of linked short stories that focuses on the way a particular family passes down the family history through physical and emotional memories. The collection largely focuses on the process of making and preserving memories and how the lack of control over one’s memory can lead to paranoia and displacement in their life. Particular value is attached to certain memories and the value and emotion attached can at times overwrite the actual content of the memory. The stories center around the Riviera family and particularly Ana Riviera’s life as she considers the many aspects …

Technological Encounters In The Interculturality Of Istanbul's Recording Studios, Eliot Bates

Publications and Research

This essay questions what is cultural within a recording studio, and the extent to which interculturality could be a useful lens for examining studio encounters and by extension other forms of artistic-technological labor. As I will show, when the concept of interculturality surfaces it rarely is accompanied by a sufficiently nuanced concept of "culture", and additionally relies upon an assumption that the "inter-" is mapping an encounter between individuals representing discrete cultural units, typically defined in reductive demographic terms. Interculturality may be able to be partly recuperated, however, through a more flexible and realistic conceptualization of culture that is more …

Patients’ Experiences On Accessing Health Care Services For Management Of Hypertension In Rural Bangladesh, Pakistan And Sri Lanka: A Qualitative Study, Helena Legido Quigley, Aliya Naheed, H. Asita De Silva, Imtiaz Jehan, Z Samad

Department of Medicine

Hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and leading cause of premature death globally. In 2008, approximately 40% of adults were diagnosed with hypertension, with more than 1.5 billion people estimated to be affected globally by 2025. Hypertensiondisproportionally affects low- and middle-income countries, where the prevalence is higher and where the health systems are more fragile. This qualitative study explored patients' experiences on the management and control of hypertension in rural Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. We conducted sixty semi-structured interviews, with 20 participants in each country. Hypertensive individuals were recruited based on age, gender and hypertensive status. …

Isolation Of Rabies Virus From The Salivary Glands Of Wild And Domestic Carnivores During A Skunk Rabies Epizootic, Cornell University Jimenez, Terry R. Spraker, Jessica Anderson, Richard Bowen, Amy Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease of global importance. Rabies virus is shed in the saliva of infected hosts and is primarily transmitted through bite contact. Canine rabies has been eliminated from the US, but wildlife constitutes more than 90% of the reported cases of animal rabies in the US each year. In the US, several wild carnivore species are reservoirs of distinct variants of rabies virus (RV). After decades of apparent absence, the south-central skunk (SCSK) RV variant was detected in Colorado in 2007 and resulted in a large-scale epizootic in striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) populations in northern Colorado …

Technical Standards Meet Administrative Law: A Teaching Guide On Incorporation By Reference, Emily S. Bremer

Journal Articles

When an agency incorporates by reference, it promulgates a rule that identifies—but does not reprint—material already published elsewhere. The incorporated materials thus become binding law without actually being printed in the agency's regulations. Sometimes the incorporated materials are privately developed technical standards, which are often copyrighted and available only for a fee. This restriction on access undermines transparency and public participation in the rulemaking process. Finding a solution is challenging because the problem is multidimensional, implicating public policy in the areas of administrative law, federal standards law and policy, and copyright.

This teaching guide is part of module that offers …

Experimental Infections Of Norway Rats With Avian‑Derived Low‑Pathogenic Influenza A Viruses, Kaci K. Vandalen, Nicole M. Nemeth, Nicholas O. Thomas, Nicole L. Barrett, Jeremy W. Ellis, Heather J. Sullivan, Alan B. Franklin, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) are a public-health, veterinary, and agricultural concern. Although wild birds are considered the primary reservoir hosts for most IAVs, wild-bird IAV strains are known to spill over into poultry, domestic or wild mammals, and humans. Occasionally, spillover events may result in adaptation or reassortment with other strains. Moreover, some IAV strains found in wild waterfowl mutate into highly pathogenic forms in poultry, causing tremendous economic losses. When domestic animals, wildlife, and humans dwell in close proximity to each other, such as may be the case with agricultural operations, wildlife may represent a potential risk for interspecies …

Predation And Disease-Related Economic Impacts Of Wild Pigs On Livestock Producers In 13 States, Aaron M. Anderson, Chris Slootmaker, Erin Harper, Ryan S. Miller, Stephanie A. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We report the results of a survey on wild pigs (Sus scrofa) damage to livestock producers in 13 US states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas). The survey was distributed by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service in the summer of 2017 to a sample of livestock producers in the 13-state region. Findings indicate that predation and disease-related damage can be substantial in certain states and for certain types of livestock. In particular, damage to cattle operations in Texas and Arkansas was substantially higher than damage in other states …

Potential Role Of Wildlife In The Usa In The Event Of A Foot-And-Mouth Disease Virus Incursion, Vienna R. Brown, Sarah N. Bevins

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is caused by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) which affects domestic and wild cloven-hoofed species. The FMD-free status of the USA and the tremendous economic impact of a virus incursion motivated the development of this evaluation of the potential role of wildlife in the event of a virus introduction. Additionally, this manuscript contains a summary of US vulnerabilities for viral incursion and persistence which focuses specifically on the possible role of wildlife. The legal movement of susceptible live animals, animal products, by-products and animal feed containing animal products pose a risk of virus introduction and spread. Additionally, the …

Reducing Prairie Dog Populations And Damage By Castration Of Dominant Males, Gary W. Witmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) occur widely across the prairie states of North America. They compete with livestock for forage, transmit plague, and damage lawns, landscaping, and property. Interest in non-lethal methods, such as immunocontraception, is growing; however, reductions in the population due to contraception may be offset by increases in survival because adults and yearlings are not subject to the energetic demands of reproduction, and lower densities may increase the amount of resources available to growing offspring. Surgical sterilization provides a means for modeling these effects. Thus, we castrated males prior to the 1998 breeding season to simulate the …

Religion, Child Custody, And Visitation, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

Folk wisdom has it that the family that prays together stays together. Empirical studies bear this out—couples who share an intensity of religious faith, even though not necessarily of the same faith tradition, do tend to marry in the first place rather than cohabit, have more stable marriages, have children, stay together longer even in troubled relationships, and be more likely to wait for divorce until any children are adults.

Despite this rosy picture, some religious couples do divorce, and these breakups are more fault-driven and acrimonious, even with no-fault divorce available, than those of their nonreligious peers. That is, …

The Role Of Scavenging In Disease Dynamics, Joaquín Vicente, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contents

Introduction................ 161

The Use of Animal Remains and the Exposure of Scavengers to Disease........ 163

The Relevance of Scavenging for Pathogens to Spread and Persist.......... 166

Human Related Factors Resulting in Increased Risk for Disease Transmission Through Scavenging.............. 170

Management of Scavenging to Reduce Disease Risks.............. 173

Restoration of Large Predators.................. 174

Elimination of Hunting of Scavengers............ 174

Destruction of Big Game and Domestic Animal Carcasses........... 174

Restoration of the Effects of Overabundance............. 175

Excluding Mammalian and Avian Scavengers from Natural Carrions.......... 176

Excluding Mammalian and Avian Scavengers from Vulture Restaurants........... 176

Conclusions and Future Perspectives........... 178

References............... 178

A Dosimetric Comparison Of 3d-Crt, Imrt, And Savi Hdr Via Ntcp/Tcp And Dvh Analysis Of Critical Organs For Breast Cancer, Sarah Wisnoskie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) is a common treatment of breast cancer with many modalities including 3D Conformal Radiation Therapy (3D-CRT), Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), and High Dose Rate Brachytherapy (HDR). In this research, a retrospective analysis of patient’s data was performed to analyze the NTCP/TCP (Normal Tissue Complication Probability/Tumor Control Probability) and Dose Volume Histogram (DVH) parameters for HDR with SAVI, 3D, and IMRT and compare them focusing on critical organs such as the heart, ipsilateral lung, chest wall, ribs, and skin. TCP was 90.275%, 55.948%, and 53.369% for HDR, 3D, and IMRT respectively. The ribs were the …

A Mindfulness Meditation Intervention To Decrease Stress, Anxiety, And Depression Among Medical And Premedical Students, Bridget Statler Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The challenges inherent in pursuing a medical education can leave many students at risk of experiencing stress and burnout. Premedical and medical students have been found to experience high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression (Fang et al., 2010; Niemi & Vainiomaki, 2006; Vitaliano, Russo, Carr, & Heerwagen, 1984). The sources of stress for premedical and medical students include academic obligations, the financial burden of paying for medical school, and family relationships. If excessive stress is left untreated it can result in negative health risks such as depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, and other physiological distress disorders. There are proven ways …

3d-Printed Flexible Polylactic Acid/ Thermoplatic Polyurethane (Pla/Tpu) Stents For Esophageal Malignancies, Maohua Lin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Palliation therapy for dysphagia using esophageal stents is the current treatment of choice for those patients with inoperable esophageal malignancies. However, the stents currently used in the clinical setting, regardless of the type of metal mesh or plastic mesh stents (covered/uncovered), may cause complications, such as tumor ingrowth and stent migration into the stomach. Furthermore, metal mesh stents have limited capacities for loading anti-cancer drugs. To effectively reduce/overcome those complications and enhance the efficacy of drug release, we designed and 3D-printed a tubular, flexible polymer stent with spirals, and then load anti-cancer drug, paclitaxel, on the stent for drug release. …

A Novel Solar Thermal Membrane Distillation System For Drinking Water Production In Undeveloped Areas, Rahamat Ullah Tanvir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In this research, a heat localizing solar thermal membrane distillation system has been developed for producing potable water from untreated surface water, wastewater, and seawater, using solely solar thermal energy. Unlike most other membrane technologies, this system requires no electrical power or equipment for its operation. The high production rate was achieved through the effective evaporation of water molecules within the pores of the membrane without dissipating much heat to the bulk feed water. It can remove suspending particles, microorganisms, inorganic salts, as well as organic contaminants from the feed water. The system can produce potable water for 32, 18, …

A Qualitative Exploratory Single Case Study Of Faculty Of A College Of Business: Attitudes, Perceptions, And Concerns Related To Distance Learning, Stephanie D. Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

With the ever-evolving advancements in technology, public not-for profit higher educational institutions have experienced a significant increase in the demand for distance learning. As a result, with the changing needs of students and institutions’ ambition to remain competitive and relevant in the industry of higher education, public not-for profit higher education institutions are continuously thriving to ensure that they are offering the best quality of education that can be provided for purposes of distance learning. When considering faculty, faculty play a significant role in making certain that the quality of education is maintained and reflected throughout curriculums and programs despite …

A Gpu- Based Simulated Annealing Algorithm For Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy, Panagiota Galanakou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Simulating Annealing Algorithm (SAA) has been proposed for optimization of the Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT). Despite the advantage of the SAA to be a global optimizer, the SAA optimization of IMRT is an extensive computational task due to the large scale of the optimization variables, and therefore it requires significant computational resources. In this research we introduce a parallel graphics processing unit (GPU)-based SAA developed in MATLAB platform and compliant with the computational environment for radiotherapy research (CERR) for IMRT treatment planning in order elucidate the performance improvement of the SAA in IMRT optimization. First, we identify the “bottlenecks” of …